When NASA’s Europa Clipper reaches its destination in 2030, the spacecraft will prepare to aim an array of powerful science instruments toward Jupiter’s moon Europa during 49 flybys, looking for […]
Ocean world
Posted inAstrogeology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Neptune, Status Report, Triton, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Enhanced Voyager 2 Approach Image Sequence Of Icy Ocean World Triton
Original Caption Released with Image: Triton Voyager 2 approach sequence with latitude-longitude grid superposed. The color image was reconstructed by making a computer composite of three black and white images […]
Posted inEuropa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Radiation, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Europa Clipper Planetary Protection Probabilistic Risk Assessment Summary
Protecting Jupiter’s Icy Moons from the Earth’s biological contamination is a key consideration for the Europa Clipper mission. The mission’s goal is to explore Jupiter’s moon, Europa, and investigate its […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Miranda, Press Release, Uranus, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Uranus’ Moon Miranda May Have An Ocean Beneath Its Surface
A new study suggests Uranus’ moon Miranda may harbor a water ocean beneath its surface, a finding that would challenge many assumptions about the moon’s history and composition and could […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Enceladus, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Modifications Of SPH Towards Three-dimensional Simulations Of An Icy Moon With Internal Ocean
There are some traces of the existence of internal ocean in some icy moons, such as the vapor plumes of Europa and Enceladus. This implies a region of liquid water […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Simulated View of Thermal Emissions from Europa
Scientists based this image on a model of data from NASA’s Galileo mission and data from an instrument on NASA’s Cassini mission that studied warm regions of Saturn’s moon Enceladus […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Animal Life Discovered Below The Seafloor at Hydrothermal Vents
The discovery of animal life below the seafloor at hydrothermal vents in the East Pacific Rise is reported in a Nature Communications paper. The research sheds new light on the […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
SwRI-Developed Instruments Will Study Potential Habitability Of Europa
Two Southwest Research Institute instruments were launched aboard NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft on Oct. 14 from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center. The spacecraft is designed to conduct a detailed reconnaissance […]
Posted inEuropa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
The Europa Clipper Astrobiology Expedition Is Underway
The Europa Clipper Astrobiology Expedition is underway. The Europa Clipper spacecraft has separated from the Falcon Heavy’s second stage and has begun a 5 1/2 year journey across the inner […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Ceres, Comets and Asteroids, Cryobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
An Ancient And Impure Frozen Ocean On Ceres Implied By Its Ice-rich Crust
Ceres is a key object in understanding the evolution of small bodies and is the only dwarf planet to have been orbited by a spacecraft, NASA’s Dawn mission.